There are practical aspects to be considered when working as a freelance solovj.  That of paying the rent, keeping the lights on, etc.

Sometimes it requires thinking outside the box somewhat and seeing how one can meld journalistic story telling with a commercial project.

Case Study: A Passion For Pinot

I approached Noble Estate, a local winery to produce for them – on spec – a marketing video for their website and trade show booth.  The winemaker was very receptive.  I spent from mid October 2009 thru the end of the year shooting at different times during “Crush”, or harvest & bottling.

The end result is a 5 minute marketing video that the wine maker absolutely loved – and it was shot in the solovj paradigm.  I shot and edited this project without any form of assistance from a production crew.

(Please open the article to see the flash file or player.)
Click On The Image To View The Video

The  wine maker telling the story provides a great opportunity for other self contained solovj’s to produce work in a fashion that is high in quality without the need for expensive cameras or others to help.  It requires the presence of mind and skill set to manage not only shooting video, but handling your audio levels, asking questions and then being able to assemble the footage into a cohesive finished product.

The equipment used for production and post is not the latest and greatest (I still shoot with a couple of tape based SONY HC7′s – they are reliable and get the job done).  Post production was completed in Edius Neo 2 on a Windows 7 based desktop utilizing NewBlueFX Video Essentials II and proDAD Mercalli filters in post.

In the end, this case study provides insights into what skills can bring to the table as opposed to the constant bantering of needing to have the latest and greatest in equipment to be marketable.

In my never ending quest to redefine what it is I do and why, it occurred to me that as a solovj, I feel most compelled to tell a story that has personal meaning.  At the same time, that story should reflect to the viewer, a sense of their humanity, to let them know that we are not alone, that we are a part of something greater than ourselves.

How does one do that given the imposed limitations that currently exist in broadcast news, newspaper video, etc?
I believe it requires a conscious choice to take a stand and stand for what you believe in.

One of the things we as visual journalists have in common is our interest, our sensitivity to telling stories that touch on topics that are outside what the pablum generating corporate lamestream news media would have spoon fed to us.  That is, finding a story that may somehow right an injustice, to bring to the light that which isn’t fair or respectful to others of the family of man.

Documentary film making has been an avenue to speak on various topics that have brought about change at many times in our society.

So now we come to the gist of this posting:  What does shooting as a backpack journalist or solo video journalist have to do with documentary film making?

I say it has much to do with it – and I’ve coined a new term around it that may help to shed light on yet another facet of working self contained, telling stories with video, stills and audio.

The Micro Documentary as a story telling medium.

I have been thinking on how to define this term and it has forced em to to realize that maybe working as a solovj or backpack journalist could be interchanged with micro documentary film maker.

The differences of course require a shift in how the story is told.  It’s going to require more pre-planning on the topic. Thus the research aspect of the craft begins to play a bigger role.   IN addition, one also needs to go in without expectations on how the story will unfold, as many documentary film makers will attest – the premise of the story can deviate from the initial concept and as a self contained production entity we have the ability to be more agile and adapt accordingly as needed.

I’m going to be delving more into this paradigm.  With the ability of content distribution via the internet, social networking such as Twitter to create viral marketing interest in finished projects, it seems that creating good stories is now up to the ability of the shooter themselves.

The gatekeepers no longer have a hold on showing those stories we feel need to be told – just because said gatekeeper says so.

Welcome to the Micro Documentary Film Maker.

Michael Rosenblum, the ever present wave maker in the profession of shooting video, has once again proven his point around why the move to the solo video journalist paradigm is inevitable – even more so with this recent announcement from broadcast giant ABC.

Rosenblum posted that ABC News announced major layoffs with 300-400 positions being eliminated.

Most interesting in the announcement  is the decision by David Westin that the network news organization is going to move toward VJ based newsgathering.

Imagine that??? (Sarcasm mine)

In his posting Rosenblum points out the  transformation will have six basic components:

1. 1. In newsgathering, ABC intends to dramatically expand their use of digital journalists. They have proven that this model works at various locations around the world and believe they can take it much further;
2. In production, ABC will take the example set by Nightline of editorial staff who shoot and edit their own material and follow it throughout all of their programs, while recognizing that they will continue to rely upon their ENG crews and editors for most of our work;
3. In structure, ABC will combine their weekday and weekend operations for both Good Morning America and World News;
4. In special events, ABC will rely upon their program staff through the day and night to cover unexpected events and marshal personnel from across the division to cover scheduled events;
5. In newsmagazines and long-form programming, they will move to a more flexible blend of staff and freelancers so that they can respond to varying demand for hours through the year; and
6. Overall, ABC will eliminate redundancies wherever possible.

Many a detractor who comes from the traditional broadcast shooting environment rails against the idea of self contained production – claiming it diminishes the quality of the final product.

Have you seen the quality of what comes from broadcast these days?  It’s stuck in the 90′s in it’s creativity – ie; there isn’t any.

Rosenblum chides the detractors with the following statement:

…one of the questions that I have been asked ad-nauseum for the past 25 years has at last been answered:

“If this is such a good idea, how come no network news operations do this?”

Now, they do.

Hear that???  It’s crickets chirping since the detractors have nothing to say…

Michael Rosemblum has posted on his blog some of his insights into the new economy of solo video journalists producing content in the realm of broadcast television.

Michael is expounding upon Mark Cuban’s blog posting that states “Are content producers prepared to reduced production costs….by 88%?”

I respect Michael’s experience and his forward thinking response to this question and why it makes sense for the 21st century digital media age.

He responds with an ever resounding yes to Mr. Cuban’s question.

Michael states :

Content producers are indeed prepared to reduce production costs by 88% (or I would rather say by as much as 88%). Just not the content producers that Mark Cuban knows.

This is where the detractors of the solo vj paradigm like to pontificate about how all their experience justifies the inflated expenses associated with shooting tv news and production content.

Michael further on states that:

When I started to produce cable shows for Discovery, they paid about $250,000 an hour per show. The show is 44 minutes. At $250 per 44 minutes, the rate then was $5681.81 per minute. If we take 12% of that, (call it the Cuban Conversion), we arrive at $681 per minute for video produced.

That’s a decent rate no matter what the detractors who have readers believe.  For anyone who produces content in the solo video journalist paradigm, a five minute piece, billed out at the “Mark Cuban Conversion Rate” comes to $3405.00.  Depending on the experience of the shooter, this could take anywhere from a few hours to a full day or two to produce content.  With 2-3 assignments a month at that rate produces quite a comfortable income for the solo vj.  And you get to see your hard earned work compensated more than fairly.

The traditional way of shooting a project amounted to inflated invoicing along with a lack of control of the final product along with expensive production crews, expensive equipment and delays due to needing to ingest to professional edit bays.

So what does this new economic formula mean for those shooting video content now – specifically as a solo video content producer?

Well, it doesn’t look to good for those who are tied to the old economy of production – one in which the act of producing video seemed some kind of magical, difficult, secret, complex and expensive process.

Rosenblum is secure in his assessment when he states “It isn’t” any of those facets for producing video content.

I thought it was quite succinct of Rosenblum to close out his blog posting with the following:

… at Mark Cuban’s numbers, a half hour of video would cost a network about $20,000. Anyone out there with a laptop edit and camcorder who wants to sign up to produce a cable half hour for $20,000? How about a series at that rate?

Hands Down.

The business end of this emerging profession has a ways to go yet, but from what I have deduced so far, Mr. Rosenblum is about as visionary as it gets for this profession – and a big thorn in the side of the detractors trying to make us believe otherwise.

For all apparent purposes, web video should be working – especially for those venues that are in a prime position to provide longer form type video stories – Mainstream magazines.

Print magazines have always been the go to for longer in depth print articles, yet these very same entities don’t know what to do with video equivalents – yet.

Why is that?

As Solo VJ’s, we could be leveraging the very monolithic entrenchment that bogs down large scale publishing and using the zen like paradigm and agility of solo video journalism and creating content that isn’t constrained by print deadlines – the web is open 24/7.

There needs to be a sense of fearlessness – that is what Tammy Haddad, former MSNBC executive producer and current Newsweek video consultant, tried to convey to a group of magazine executives in an article published on Folio’s website.  She went on to say that “producing compelling content isn’t an expensive proposition”.

The solo vj detractors would have us believe otherwise.

She also went on to say that publishers should try not to replicate cable news. “We’re not trying to be TV,” Haddad said. “That’s the biggest mistake you can make.”  But there should be a striving for the best possible quality out of the content being produced with in the realm of solo video journalism.  A new way of shooting and editing will be required by those who take up the mantle of Solo VJ’ism.

Publishing as we have known it has literally had its world turned inside out and upside down.  Content distribution, business models for generating revenue – all those typical formulaic paradigms are burning down to the ground and those entrenched media outlets are trying to figure out what to do now.

The playing field has been leveled.

Web video has a big potential of driving business in directions for solo vj’s unheard of until this time.  How do we as Solo VJ’s bring that to our advantage?

By learning, improving, and refining our skills and becoming more agile in other areas that make us more valuable as content creators.  Web video doesn’t require huge production crews, expensive video equipment, and years of formal education – this is about changing the rules of convention and showing those entrenched in the traditional way of creating video content that they no longer are the gate keepers to the craft.

Solo VJ Training can be accomplished in shorter time frames, equipment has become affordable, story ideas abound that are begging to be produced.  It only requires the courage to make all of this come together.

Those who refuse to accept these changes will go the way of the DoDo bird.  Those who adapt – will reap the rewards of their efforts.

If one no longer has to invest several thousands of dollars in equipment, then one can produce content for a lower cost – and yet maintain high production values – something the detractors refuse to believe can happen.  This new way of working could very well produce more consistent revenue streams for those willing to work in the new paradigm of solo video journalism.

The Solo VJ paradigm is changing the profession – and is past the point of stopping those changes that are happening.

Now it requires of us to raise the bar for quality and do so at a competitive price.  That is the business side of this profession.

Given the current state of the economy, and the challenges facing shooters who are transitioning or who have done so to compete in the market place, the notion of giving up some sort of ethical standard and so called “stooping” to shooting such types of work as events or weddings as “degrading” is doing yourself a disservice.

Why not apply the skills of story telling and apply them to other types of video work?

I just completed my first wedding video shoot last weekend and shot it in the solo vj paradigm.  I learned alot about what my gear is capable of and not capable of doing, and also discovered what gear I need to eventually invest in to market myself more effectively as a pro shooter.

I shot the wedding in a docummentary fashion – very much in the style of Loi Bahn, principle of Bluecore Media, a Vancouver BC wedding video production company specializing in the concept of “Wedding Documentaries”.  Viewing his work is like watching cinema – the content is stunning and the editing is some of the highest quality work I have seen to date.

It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery – since I felt his work was the best out there currently, I reviewed his clips for several days on and off, trying to absorb his unique style and applying it to my first wedding.  I did get a sense of his style and it resulted in a pretty solid 26 minute DVD edited within two days in Vegas Pro 8.  All video with effects and audio was handled right on the timeline – I never once had to go outside the application for anything else.  Once the project timeline suited me, I rendered out the timeline to drop into SONY DVD Architect 4.5 – and within 30 minutes of working in DVDA, I had a finished DVD to present to the couple.

Click for detailed image

How does this apply to the paradigm of Solo Video Journalism?  Two fold – One, you gotta make a living somehow – especially when working as a freelancer.  Secondly, this is the best way to shoot and edit under self imposed deadlines and Vegas Pro 8 provided a rapid turn around post production solution.  Many claim that to work with video one needs to work in the old post production paradigm of multiple application suites.  This is the 21st century and to stay competitive, one needs to look at post production from a new perspective. The Associate Press is utilizing Vegas Pro 8, those in the know are using it effectively for video productions ranging from web videos to film festival winning documentary projects.

Shouldn’t you remove your preconceived notions about what is a professional post production process and be more efficient – and competitive?

Jeff Jarvis has posted a compelling argument that points out the flaws at the unwillingness of the archaic medium of TV news reporting and why it’s dying a slow, lingering death.

In his post, Jeff points out the massive layoffs and cutbacks at CBS O&O stations news divisions and is in negotiations with CNN to provide their news coverage.

Apply this to the realm of the solo video journalist and you begin to see why the pundits dismiss the Solo VJ paradigm as nothing to worry about.

Guess again folks.

Hyperlocal news reporting, along with compact video gear is changing the face of the video journalist newscape. Add to this the ability to produce documentary projects using the solo vj paradigm with the web as it’s final display platform – where everything needed to produce compelling content can be fit into a backpack (more on this in an upcoming post), this is where the operator will dictate the quality of content being produced.

One can only hope that net neutrality is locked in for good to prevent corporations from controlling who has access to information.

According to Michael Rosunblum’s blog, an article from the Denver Post points out the ever conclusive fact that the Solo Video Journalist paradigm is happening no matter whether the detractors want to admit it or not.

In the posting, one of the stations owned by Gannett – KUSA Channel 9 in Denver Colorado, is one of those stations. Its general manager, Mark Cornetta, has stated that:

“In the old world, one person shot a story, another edited it, a third told the story. In the new world, one person would be reporter/photojournalist/editor and producer for TV and the Web.”

This is not coming from the outer fringes as the detractors would try to have others believe. This is coming from mainstream corporate broadcast news.

Newspapers need to see this as both a wakeup call and an opportunity. The realities of newspapers is that they are dying a slow agonizing death as they have been known up until recently. Statistics are showing that less and less people are getting their news from print and going to online resources for their news. They are picking and choosing how and when they want their news.

Web video is playing an ever increasing role in this consumption of news and entertainment. A recent quote I read stated what I feel is an accurate assessment for those newspaper photo journlialists who are having/needing to make the uncomfortable transition to shooting video:

“ALL methods of gathering and telling visual news stories should be and will be used….. by newspapers…and TV stations. It’s called “Convergence” And the newspaper…that thinks it doesn’t need to incorporate the best practices of TV news… will fail.”

The new breed of agile Solo Video Journalists – using smaller cameras and laptops to produce longer form, more personal stories will also have a place. They can and will successfully develop into better quality storytellers, telling stories with compelling content.

That is the essence of the Solo Video Journalist paradigm – removing the barriers so that those not so fortunate to enter into the exclusive traditional arena of broadcast shooters have the same opportunities to produce the same kinds of content that have inspired them – is there really anything wrong with that???

Gear isn’t nearly as important as we are led to believe

Read that again -  Gear isn’t nearly as important as we are led to believe

So how does this fit into the Solo VJ paradigm?

Although having quality video acquisition tools is important, I think the future for solo video journalists will lie more in online content distribution – not which high end camera one shoots with – or whether it was edited on a MAC or PC.

PF Bentley, a respected video journalist and trail blazer in the craft of Solo Video Journalism, stated on the Digitaljournalist that:

“In the next few years we will be moving out of broadband and into fiber optic or powerline Web delivery which will enable full HD Web video and network broadcast online. This means that you are going to have to compete for viewers with 5,000 or more “stations” online. You better have some really good stuff to show ’cause you are not the only game in town for ADVERTISING DOLLARS.”

That is forward thinking and a prediction I believe it beginning to come to pass – and one forward thinking Solo video journalists should be working towards.

In my opinion, there should be more concern by Solo VJ’s about their method of content delivery on the web, not which camera, which NLE or whether to deliver to Bluray, HD-DVD, etc.

Lately I’ve been delving into DivX and to be honest, I think it’s a better delivery solution to Flash video in cost for it’s encoding tools, cross platform playback options, overall image quality and utilization of system resources.  Downside is you may have to download its player – big deal.

This is the future for both local and online content distribution in HD from what I have surmised.  I think too many shooters sit on discussion forums and dwell on the gear end of things and forget about how the end product is going to be delivered.  Robin Berg, a professional underwater shooter for broadcast, stated in a recent email to me that he tested the SONY HC7 head to head with the SONY Z1U for Broadcast quality – and his testing showed it can compete with the much larger and expensive Z1U in the right conditions. I chose the HC7′s as my tool for lightweight, high quality video content acquisition for that very reason.

It is my opinion that too many people have become enamored with a larger camera and van loads of other video gear strictly for bragging rights yet don’t take into account their method for content delivery.

The Travel Channel Academy teaches it’s attendees to shoot with consumer grade video cameras, edit on a laptop and teaches them how to market their content to the Travel Channel.  It’s about a lightweight, uncomplicated approach to story telling with a video camera.  This bodes well for online content distribution which is making inroads with entrenched TV News Station Managers, whether the detractors choose to believe it or not.

There is a place for multiperson production crews, but the future lies with experienced one person Solo Video Journalists who can do it all – from conceiving the project, to shooting, editing, narrating, scoring musical soundtrack and delivering to multiple outlets.

That is the Solo VJ paradigm.

A recent article I just read touches on TV news broadcast and it highlights how entrenched traditional broadcast media is with regards to utilizing the internet for video content distribution.

The old school tv station managers are fighting tooth and nail at the idea of transforming their tv news divisions into media news divisions.

It requires a whole new way of thinking, and change is unpleasant for many people who are set in their ways.

Many claim that the web doesn’t have a proven business model – that understandable given the dot-bomb fiasco of the late 90′s. But given that the pace at which technology is changing, and viewership is moving away from tv and to the internet, it may be high time for some of these people to take a chance and jump in with both feet.

This is going to require a new business paradigm, but the changes taking place are moving ahead without stopping.

Solo VJ’s marketing themselves need to understand this as well. Although shooting video is what we want to do, the reality is, this is a business for many, and as such, there needs to be an assessment of other factors such as proper training in multiple disciplines, business sense and a willingness to make mistakes without fear of reprisal.

There are avenues besides traditional broadcast television. It may require building your own brand – if it fails, so what. But if it doesn’t, you may well have created something that will grow into something that is fulfilling – and economically viable.

Either way, the new breed of solo video journalists need to adapt or perish.